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Expedition |
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Expedition begins in the town of Puerto Maldonado for orientation. Team members will have a chance to meet the staff and relax after their flights and walk around the town.
The adventure begins at 6:00am the next day when we embark upon the road and river journey into the jungle. Traveling up a tributary of the Amazon, surrounded for miles in every direction by rainforest, wildlife is almost immediately visible. Around mid day we arrive at our destination.
Once in the jungle our staff will provide constant support and take careful measures to ensure that our itinerary meets the needs of each group. Groups seeking a tranquil expedition into the rainforest for wildlife viewing and serenity will be perfectly accommodated. We also offer an intense and challenging program of jungle exploration for those up for the adventure.
Activities include:
- Assisting on research projects
- Day and night hikes for viewing Amazon wildlife
- mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects
- Swamp exploration
- Tree Climbing
- Extreme tree climbing (to the canopy with climbing gear)
- Solo and group camping expeditions
- Raft building
- Intro to reptile handling including snakes and crocodiles
- Wild animal rehabilitation (when necessary)
- Swimming and using the rope swing
- Relaxing in the camps many hammocks
- Craft making with jungle materials
- Sports such as badminton and soccer on the river beach
- Farm and trail maintenance
- And many others...
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Wildlife |
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Isolated deep in the lowland rainforests of Peru, the Saona Station is a comfortable and safe place at which we base our operations. Surrounded by 1000acres of primary rainforest reserve, and another 200 acres of secondary forest, volunteers will have the opportunity to be truly immersed in the rainforest. Because of the remote location and pristine forest, wildlife is extremely abundant. Often the morning is filled with the calls of parrots, toucans, and howler monkeys. Volunteers can expect to have regular sightings of macaws, caiman, peccaries, capybara, parrots, snakes, frogs, toucans, and eight different species of monkey. Other more difficult to spot wildlife includes jaguars, ocelots, Brazilian tapirs, giant armadillos, giant anteaters, and deer. However, careful planning and soft quiet footsteps can reveal many of these species.
The area includes approximately 90 species of mammals, and over 600 species of birds, including the harpy eagle. There are over 1200 species of butterflies, including the mythical blue morpho. One hundred and twenty species of reptiles and amphibians walk these forests, including the largest predator of the Amazon, the black caiman, and the world’s largest snake the anaconda. These amazing creatures live amidst the most extreme botanical biodiversity on earth. Needless to say, the Amazon is the ultimate nature lover’s dream. |
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Accommodation |
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Accommodations are basic, with running water, showers, flushing toilets, and comfortable bunks. On the deck of the station is a small library and a collection of hammocks - a great place to read, relax, and enjoy the sounds of the forest.
There is a delicious menu of local organic meals to keep everyone happy and well fed during our time in the forest. Much of the food provided is grown on location and includes fruits such as papaya, mangos, bananas, and pineapples. Rice, beans, and pasta, supplemented by fish from the river make up a large part of the diet.
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Staff |
Paul Rosolie & Juan Julio Durand
Gowri
Staff at Peru
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American conservationist and explorer Paul Rosolie has been working in the Amazon for half a decade. His training has taken place in the field running volunteer expeditions along with his own solo excursions into the jungle. His experience however is not limited to the Amazon. He has participated in rainforest conservation projects in numerous Asian and South American countries. His expertise covers birds, mammals, primates, amphibians, and reptiles, specifically crocodilians and snakes. For more on Paul Rosolie see http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0310-hance_rosolie.html
Peruvian naturalist Juan Julio Juan Julio Duran was born and raised in the rainforest. As part of the native community of Inferno he has always lived very close to nature. His life experience combined with over a decade of work in ecotourism and adventuring has made him an encyclopedia of local knowledge. There are very few calls, tracks, or scats he can’t identify, which makes him a valuable resource for visiting scientists and wildlife enthusiasts. Also his skills at handling wildlife are second to none. While any normal person might walk through the forest and spot three or four species on a single walk, with Juan Julio so much more becomes visible.
Indian naturalist and photographer Gowri Varanashi is the newest addition to the Tamandua family, but she has been working in the wild since childhood. Her experience spans three continents, and ranges from tracking endangered Indian rhinos on elephant back, to sighting tigers, to wrestling anacondas and logging the vast diversity of butterflies in the Amazon. She has accompanied Paul and Juan Julio on expeditions into isolated parts of the Amazon Rainforest, and her photographs have been seen around the world.
The other members of our staff are Infierno Natives. The Durand family (of which JJ is a part) owns the land that makes up the Saona Reserve and they make up a small but talented crew of experts that are essential to our efforts to protect forest. With Elsa cooking delicious Peruvian food, Elias watching over the land, Pico navigating the rivers, and Mario and JJ overseeing the business, they are a unique family of conservationists!
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